While Apple is fighting with the government about the right to privacy on our iPhones, I am dealing with my own privacy issues. For those who have a generation of phone that allows Siri to be our personal assistant, we know that Siri does not always get our requests right. How many of us have actually talked back to this female voice correcting its interpretation of what we asked? I know I have before acknowledging it is a computer generated feature, and scarily, I’ve done it more than once. Yet when Siri does get it right, it’s also kind of scary.

Siri is polite enough to call me by name, which is a nice touch. She always says “Hello Ilene.” Yet recently, Siri has taken to saying, “Hello Mila; not Ilene anymore.”
Hmmm… My five-year old granddaughter’s name is Mila and she loves my phone. Hmmm… I think I may have it figured out. Now all I have to do is get my name back. My real name. My name without her name in the greeting. I will just tell Siri she is wrong and see what happens. It is also scary that I keep referring to Siri as “she” instead of “it” when I refer to the voice. Hmmm…

Since allowing Mila to use my phone, I discovered that some of my photos are gone. When questioned if she deleted any, she admitted the crime, telling me she only deleted the ones of her that she did not like. Maybe that is why so many seniors proudly proclaim that they have a simple cell phone and are doing just fine without all the bells and whistles. In fact, I was recently with some friends in my age group who seemed to be having a contest on whose phone was the most archaic. I am right up there with the 4s series, but was beaten badly by the folks with flip phones.

Then there are the techie seniors who must have the latest everything just because they can. I have a friend like that. She went from the iPhone 5 to the 6s because it is bigger. She also went from the tablet that was seven inches to the one that is eight inches. My reaction was…???
Now because her new cell phone is bigger, it does not fit into her small handbag and she had to purchase a neck strap and wear her new phone around her neck. My reaction was once again…??? By the way, she cannot wait until the iPhone 7 is released this year. I hope it fits somewhere.

It is interesting to watch the older generation with their devices. I must admit some are really proficient in using all the features. But others are woefully unschooled. While watching others use their phones, I have overheard a lot of “how did that happen?” and “I didn’t mean to do that,” plus a few “just give me a minute and I will find it.” At least I am not alone.

We all know that younger people are never off their phones. They never look up, even when crossing a street, they never converse, even when on a date (texting does not count) and they have developed a new language consisting of symbols, letters and pictures all working together. But now I am noticing that phenomenon creeping into the older generation as well. By older, I am specifically noting the behavior of seniors. I see it in restaurants; I see it anywhere one has to wait; and I see it in movies. The movie group I belong to is mostly seniors, and the minute the movie ends, the theater is alight with phones coming to life and all I can wonder is what happened in the past two hours that requires immediate attention. Maybe Hillary and Donald and Ted and Bernie were photographed in a group hug. That’s got to be it.

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